betED Articles
Poker
Poker
betED Articles
Poker
Poker
betED.com
Sit & Go Tips
November 14th, 2007 - Sit & Go Tips
You’ve seen it taking over television coverage for years now and want to get in on the action. Thanks to the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour tournament poker is still one of the hottest things going today.
But how do you get in? Thanks to Al Gore inventing the Internet, poker players from around the world now have the opportunity to take part in tournament poker without leaving their house. And betED.com is home to some great tournament action.
The easiest way for any beginner to get in on the action is by playing Sit-N-Go tournaments at betED.com. Rather than letting the tournament schedule dictate your life, you can get in on a 10-player tournament any time of day. Each tournament starts as soon as 10 players register, so you’re never stuck waiting around for a tournament to start.
So how do you play a Sit-n-Go? Well, here some basics pointers to get you into the money and bragging to all your friends about your poker prowess. You’re going to want to divide the sit-n-go tournament into three stages: Early Rounds, The Bubble and finally, In the Money. This week we’ll give you a quick lesson on how to play early in the sit-n-go.
The Early Rounds
One thing you have to keep in mind is the payout structure for a sit-n-go. When 10 players register the top 3 players will all get paid with the first place finisher getting 50% of the prize pool. The key for beginners is to find ways to get to the final 3 as many times as possible so you’re always seeing a return on your money.
The simplest way to do this is to play very few hands in the early stages and make sure you’re using position to you advantage. Some players will play wild and crazy hoping to get lucky and double their chips early on. Sure, this style of play looks great on TV and may get you some chips early, but more often than not, it’s going to bust you early in the tournament.
During the first two or three levels only play premium hands. When you do get a good hand you’ll need to keep in mind your position at the table. How many players are left to act? Is anybody else going to raise after you? Has anybody raised before? How many players are in the pot? Once you’ve considered these four things, if you still think you have the best hand you have to raise. A standard raise is usually 3 – 4 times the big blind.
Once you’ve raised one of three things will happen. One, everybody will fold and you take the blinds. Two, somebody calls your bet and you’ll be seeing the flop. Or three, somebody could re-raise you and put you to the test.
If scenario one happens you should be happy – your bet earned you some chips and now it’s time to start thinking about the next hand. If scenario two happens then you’ll have to decide what hand, or range of hands, that person could have called your bet with. Then, when the flop is dealt, decide on whether or not you have the best hand and act accordingly. If you think you have the best of it, don’t be afraid to bet again and let them know you want to win those chips!
Finally, if scenario three happens you’ll be making a pretty big decision. If you think your hand is no longer the best hand and it’s going to cost you too much to see the flop, you can fold here and wait for a better spot. However, if you think that your hand is still the best you can put the pressure back on the raiser by re-raising or even going all-in. If he calls you with a weaker hand you’ll be in a great position to double up early on. Or, if you think there’s still a chance you have the best hand but would like to see the flop you can call here and then let the flop dictate your next move.
Remember though, it’s early on in the tournament and the blinds, which will rise as time passes, are still relatively low and you should choose your hands carefully.
Next week we’ll talk about some strategy for later in the tournament as you get closer to being “in the money”. But for now, jump in to some of the sit-n-go’s at betED.com and work on your game.
Click here to play poker at betED now!